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Bella shrugs. “That’s why I didn’t want to point it out. I figured you’d get defensive. Anyway, I came to see if you wanted to play board games with the guys? There’s eggnog.”
I’m bothered by her words, and by the way she quickly moved on rather than elaborating, like she expected my reaction.
People only get defensive when they feel attacked.
“Board games,” I repeat, though I’m thinking about her accusation and not her offer.
I didn’t reject things with Less because it wasn’t perfect. I left because he didn’t care, and I was suffocating in an unrequited relationship where I was treated as a toy, easily discarded when something shinier was in the cards.
Except Less has a very different view on what happened back then. A view I haven’t been able to completely refute.
If he was telling the truth, it doesn’t absolve him of everything he put me through, but we were both in the wrong. He was callous. I was…unwilling to see his perspective, to discuss things and rejecting imperfections, just like my sister pointed out.
“Nothing much else to do,” she replied cheerfully. “The internet is back, but the connection’s too spotty for movies. You’re in?”
My instinct is to say no, but after what she said, I get the impression I’d be proving her right. “Sure.”
She breaks into a huge smile, like she definitely expected a no from me. “Awesome!”
She gets up, but I call back, “Wait a second. I wanted to chat with you, actually.”
Bella tilts her head. “Yeah?”
I clear my throat. “Less…said a few things and I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything here?”
God, this is awkward.
“What did Less say that could possibly activate your big sister mode?” She grins knowingly. “And make you blush.”
She’s implying I’m a prude, and I wish she were wrong. “I mean… You and that guy. It’s all good, right? And Nic doesn’t mind. You’re in an…open relationship?”
I’m just trying to understand my sister without coming off as judgmental, but I suspect I fail. It’s not that I’m judging her; I’m simply shocked because I never would have expected her to enter into that sort of agreement.
I don’t like cheats. The very thought that my sister could be one makes my stomach churn. But what happens with Seb and Bella is out in the open, in full view and knowledge of her fiancé’s own brother, and with Nic’s approval, to believe Less. Cheating, to me, is defined as sneaking out, breaking an agreed-upon rule of engagement. This seems to be something else entirely.
And yes, part of me wants to make sure that it’s whatshewants, not something she feels pressured into. But if the answer is yes, I have no problem with it.
“Oh god,” she chuckles. “Wereallyshould get you pearls to clutch. The word you’re looking for is hotwife—though hot-fiancée is more accurate. It’s completely consensual. Nicolai likes sharing me, so long as I tell him about it. I like it too. Promise. It’sa lotof fun.”
And to watch her grin, I don’t doubt it for a second.
“All good, then.” I get to my feet, brushing my skirt to eliminate any creases. “Now, get me enough eggnog to forget we’ve ever had that conversation.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Ivy
Less is perfectly polite and I hate it.
He sits opposite me at Monopoly, and greets me with anicesmile. Not his signature smirk, no suggestive comments, and his gaze doesn’t even trail over my legs, although I opted to wear a pretty red leather skirt. It’s far from lewd: I paired it with thick, opaque black tights and a fluffy white jumper. I wouldn’t have hesitated to dress like that for dinner with my parents. But I thought he’d at leastlook.
Not today.
“Would you like more eggnog, Ivy?” he asks when my glass is empty.
Ivy, not poison.
Whatever game he’s playing now, it fucking sucks.
